Project Variances, Tracking and Projecting Costs

Project variances, tracked with TrackerSuite.Net, help project managers to review the progress of a project, identify differences in schedule and expenditures, and estimate cost to completion.

The Earned Value Management process recognizes that a project's value isn't just a question of its budget versus its cost, but of schedule as well. For example, in the race to market of a new product, the development project's adherence to an expected timeline is crucial.

TrackerSuite.Net utilizes the Earned Value Management framework and its concepts of Planned Value, Earned Value and Actual Cost to provide an array of metrics that analyze and forecast project performance, in both schedule and cost, as well as generate projections on the costs required to complete projects and tasks.

Monitoring the Project's Schedule

TrackerSuite.Net provides two measurements for reviewing a project or task's adherence to schedule. A Schedule Variance (SV) provides a cost differential between the Earned Value and the Planned Value of the work in question, based on the hours scheduled and the cost rate of the assigned resource(s). The other measurement, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI), is the result of dividing the Earned Value of the work by its Planned Value, which provides a qualitative assessment of the project's schedule.

Tracking the Project's Costs

TrackerSuite.Net provides similar metrics for reviewing project costs, called Cost Variance (CV) and the Cost Performance Index (CPI) respectively. The Cost Variance is the cost differential between the Earned Value and Actual Cost of work performed. Like the SPI, the Cost Performance Index provides a qualitative assessment of the project's costs and the degree to which the cost of completing the work is higher than planned.

Determining the Cost to Complete Projects and Tasks

Just as it is vital for project managers to identify variances in the cost and schedules of their projects, they also need to be able to safely estimate the cost to complete these projects. TrackerSuite.Net provides an Estimate to Completion (EAC) value that forecasts the costs required to complete a project or task, based on existing Planned Value, Earned Value and Actual Cost data.